Dinwiddie no stranger to Winnipeg

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 13/08/2021 (1522 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

He only started four games for the Blue and Gold, but Ryan Dinwiddie is a name those in Bomberland will remember forever.

That’s because it was nearly 14 years ago when the weight of Winnipeg was on Dinwiddie’s shoulders.

Let’s take a trip down memory (or nightmare if you’re a Bomber fan) lane to the 2007 East Division final in Toronto. The Bombers had the ball deep in Argos territory early in the fourth quarter when a botched handoff hit the turf. Star Bombers quarterback Kevin Glenn made a play for the loose ball but was drilled by Argos linebacker Kevin Eiben. Glenn got up and clutched his obviously injured left arm as he walked off the field.

The Bombers would hang on for a 19-9 victory to punch their ticket to the Grey Cup, but Glenn’s arm was broken and the team would have to compete for the ultimate prize without him.

And thus, Dinwiddie went from backup quarterback to essentially an unforgettable name around these parts. The former Boise State standout was given the near impossible task of trying to win the Grey Cup in his first career CFL start.

He’d also have to do it against Winnipeg’s biggest rival — the Saskatchewan Roughriders — and have to outduel the league’s Most Outstanding Player from that season, quarterback Kerry Joseph.

“I felt like we were gonna win that game,” said Doug Berry, the Bombers head coach from 2006-2008, in a recent phone call from Melbourne, Fla.

“(Dinwiddie’s) knowledge of the game, what he sees on the field, really, there’s very few guys like that.”

Dinwiddie showed some promise in the big game, connecting with receiver Derick Armstrong for a 50-yard score in the third quarter, but the bad far outweighed the good. He finished the night completing only 15 of 33 passes for 225 yards. He also fumbled once and threw three interceptions — all to Riders defensive back James Johnson who went on to be named the game’s most valuable player. Despite a heroic performance from the Bombers defence, Saskatchewan won the game 23-19.

“I think for me personally, I was excited for the opportunity,” Dinwiddie said this week.

“I wasn’t shy from being excited about it. I enjoyed it. (But) it sucks we couldn’t finish on the winning end right there at the end… I know a lot of folks in Winnipeg are probably upset that I didn’t get it done in my first start. I know they hadn’t had a Grey Cup in a long time, so, kudos to them for getting it done last year. I’m sure that helped out the town of Winnipeg and the fans there for finally getting to hoist the Grey Cup.”

Predominantly as a backup, Dinwiddie threw for 1,581 yards, six touchdowns, and nine interceptions in his three seasons with the Bombers before getting released prior to the 2009 campaign. But no one has ever had to ask ‘Whatever happened to that guy?’ because the Elk Grove, Calif., native hasn’t left the league since. He’d go on to play two seasons in Saskatchewan before transitioning into the coaching ranks. Dinwiddie worked with the Montreal Alouettes from 2013-15 in various coaching capacities before moving on to the Calgary Stampeders to be their quarterbacks coach for three seasons, winning a Grey Cup in 2018 and helping quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell win two most outstanding player awards. Dinwiddie is now in a front and centre position again as the Argos named him their head coach on Dec. 12, 2019. Funnily enough, Eiben also happens to be on the Argos staff as a special teams assistant and linebackers coach.

“I know a lot of folks in Winnipeg are probably upset that I didn’t get it done in my first start. I know they hadn’t had a Grey Cup in a long time, so, kudos to them for getting it done last year.”
– Ryan Dinwiddie

Friday night at IG Field was Dinwiddie’s first time meeting the Bombers as a head coach.

So did Dinwiddie, one of the most prolific passers in NCAA history, who still holds several records at Boise State, think he’d still be up in the Great White North all these years later?

“Not really. I mean, I thought there was the potential for it, but I wanted to come up here and play as long as I could,” said the 40-year-old.

“I really thought I was gonna go back and coach college football. That was always kind of my goal was to go back to the states and coach college football, but when you get up here to the professional level, I don’t know if I see myself as a college coach anymore. I really enjoy the professional aspect of it. So, yeah, I didn’t think I’d be here how many years later, but I live here year round, my wife’s Canadian, both of my sons are Canadian so Canada is home now.”

Berry, now 73 and retired, was the Riders offensive co-ordinator when they brought in Dinwiddie to be their backup. Berry held the same position in Montreal in 2013 when Dinwiddie broke into coaching. Berry and Dinwiddie remain in contact today as the two chat once or twice a year.

“It doesn’t surprise me at all that he’s gone on to good success as an assistant coach and even won his first game as a head coach… A lot of guys go from basically playing to coaching a couple years to head coach. Ryan has paved the way. He’s been an assistant for quite a while. He’s seen a lot and done a lot as a coach,” Berry said.

“He’s one of those guys who wasn’t a superstar as a player in the professional ranks… but most of the coaches aren’t recognized as great players. That’s the way Ryan is. He was a really good player, but his mind and understanding of the game is what really sets him apart from his athletic prowess. Not that he was a bad quarterback, don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that at all, because I thought he was an outstanding quarterback. But he knows the game and I think that’s going to lead to some success for him.”

Now as a head coach, Dinwiddie has a chance to give the Bombers and the rest of the CFL a reason to remember him for other than being the guy who was forced to make his debut in the Grey Cup.

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31